Motor.



No. 675,846. Patented June 4, I91".

A. BENSON.

MOTOR.

(Application filed Nov. 4, 1899.) (No Model.)

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'Ywummv UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ANDREIV BENSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TOROBERT P. PRICE AND JOHN P. PRICE, OF SAME PLACE, AND JOHN B. BENSON, OFMARINETTE, WISCONSIN.

MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 675,846, dated June 4,1901.

Application filed November 4, 1899. Serial No. 735,747. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ANDREW BENSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at No. 53 River street, in the city of Chicago, county of Cook,and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin M0- tors, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification.

My invention relates to a combined electriro cal and mechanical motor orengine; and it has for its primary object to provide improved meanswhereby the electric motor may be utilized for starting the engine andthe latter utilized for operating the electric motor as a dynamo andstoring electricity for use in either starting the engine or assistingor substituting the latter in the work it has to do.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved means whereby theelectrical ap- 2o paratus when working as a dynamo will antomaticallycut itself out of the storage battery circuit when the battery becomesfully charged.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction wherebythe electric motor cannot be started without automatically opening thesupply-valve to the engine, and such supply-valve cannot be shut off orpartially shut off without breaking or correspondingly resisting thecurrentto the motor, thereby providing a means for controlling eitherthe motor or the engine, or both, by one and the same operation or acton the part of the operator.

5 With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts bywhich the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearingare at- 0 tained, all as fully described, with reference to theaccompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

The said drawing is a diagrammatic illustration of an electric andmechanical motor 5 and the various circuits and controlling devicesembodying my invention.

The greatest field of usefulness for my invention is that which includesthe art of automobiles or motor-vehicles, and on such devices it isdesirable,for reasons too well known to require explanation, to employgasolene or equivalent explosive fluid as a motive power. Hence themechanical motor which I have shown in connection with the electricmotor is of the gasolene type.

1 represents the cylinder of the gasoleneengine; 2, the crank-shaft; 3,a speed regulator or lever which controls or regulates the opening ofthe fuel-gas-inlet valve or Valves thereof, and 4 is the armature of theelectric motor, of which 5 6 are the field-magnets and upon the shaft ofwhich armature is secured a pinion 7, which meshes with a gear-wheel 8on the crank-shaft 2, thereby making the armature subserve as afly-wheel for the gasengine, or otherwise stated the fly-wheel of thegas-engine serves as an armature-core for the electric motor, and bybeing geared to the shaft by multiplying-gears in this manner enablesthe employment of a much smaller and lighter fly-wheel for an engine ofa given horse-power than heretofore feasible.

10 is a storage battery whose negative pole is connected by conductor 11with the posi tive pole of the motor or dynamo, which is of theshunt-wound type, while the positive pole of the battery 10 is connectedby conductor 12 with a controller or switch 13, which is adapted tooverlap a plain contact 14 and also over any number ofa series ofresistancecontacts 15 of the usual or any suitable rheostat. The plaincontact 14 is elongated, so that the controller 13 will first connectwith it and will remain in contact therewith as long as in contact withany of the contacts 15, and such contact 14 is connected by conductor 16to the heliaof field-core 6, while the series of contactsl tf isconnected by conducif tor 17 with an isolated contact 18, with which isadapted to contact a circuit-closer 19, con- 0 nected by conductor 19with the negative M pole of the motor or dynamo, so that when thecircuit-closer 19 is in contact with the contact 18 and the controller13 in contact with one or more of the contacts 15 the current will flowfrom the storage battery 10 along the conductor 12 to the controller 13,then through the resistances 15, included in the circuit, along theconductor 17 to the contact 1S and to the negative pole of the motor meor dynamo via 19 and 20, and returns to the battery via conductor 11,thereby rotating the armature 1 and imparting movement to theengine-piston through the intermediary of the connections alreadydescribed, thus starting the gas engine, which will in turn react on thearmature-shaft, and as soon as its speed becomes sutiicient the motorwill become a dynamo and begin to generate a current in thearmature-coils and send it to the battery along the conductors 11 1G 20,but in the reverse direction of that already described with reference tothe direction of current when used for actuating the electric motor. Thecurrent will continue to (low to the battery as long as the engineoperates and until the battery becomes fully charged, whereupon thecircuit to the battery is automatically broken at 18 19 by thecircuit-closer 19 moving to the right. This movement of thecircuitcloser 19 is accomplished by connecting the latter (which isshown in the drawing in the form of a pivoted bar or lever) to the core21 of a solenoid or magnet 22, whose terminal 23 is connected to thebattery by conductor 2t, while its terminal 25 is connected to anisolated contact 26 by conductor 27, so that when the current passesthrough the solenoid 22 the circuit at 18 19 will be broken. This cannotoccur, however, until the current becomes strong enough to overcome(through the agency of a magnet or solenoid 29) a spring or resistance28, acting to restrain a circuitcloser 30 from contacting with thecontact 26, the circuitcloser 30 being connected by conductor 31 toconductor 32, which is in turn connected to conductor 16 and theterminal 33 of the helix 29 being also connected to conductor 32, Whileits terminal 31 is connected by conductor to the conductor 21. Thus itwill be seen that a full charge in the storage battery willautomatically cut the battery out of circuit; but as soon as the chargeis reduced below a certain tension a magnet or solenoid 36, into whichone end of the core or armature 21 projects, will throw thecircuit-closer or cut-out 19 back into engagement with the contact 18and again place the battery in circuit with the motor or dynamo. Thiswill be accomplished automatically by any reduction in the batterycharge from whatever cause, such as the use of the charge forilluminating purposes or igniting the gas in the gas-engine; but for thesake of convenience and certainty there may be employed a hand-operatedeircuitcloser 37, connected by conductors 38 39 to contact 18 andcircuit-closer 19, respectively, so that by closing the switch orcircuit-closer 37 the battery-voltage may soon be reduced sufficientlyto actuate the solenoid or magnet 36 and shift the circuit-closer 19into engagement with its companion contact 18, the switch 37 being heldnormally open, if desired, by a spring 40 or other means, so that whenthe apparatus is used on a vehicle the possibility of the switch 37being allowed to remain closed and the charge drained away will beavoided. This operation of the solenoid or magnet 36 is effected in thefollowing manner: One terminal 41 of the solenoid 36 is connected byconductor 4C2 to a contact 43, with which the circuit-closer 30 is heldnormally in contact by the spring 28, while the other terminal 11 ofsolenoid 36 is connected to conductor 35. Hence as soon as resistance ofthe spring 28 exceeds the strength of the solenoid 29 the circuit willbe closed through solenoid 36 via 11, 42, 13, 30, 31, 32, 16, 1t, 13,and 12 on one side and 41, 35, 21, and 11 on the other side, and theelectrical machine will be in readiness to be used as either a motor ora dynamo as the exigencies of the case may require.

45 represents an electric lamp connected by conductors to 47 to theconductors 11 16, respectively, which may be utilized as a headlight orfor any other desired purpose when the invention is employed as motivepower for a vehicle.

The controller 12 is actuated from the opcrators post by a cord 48 orother suitable connection, which is also connected to thelever 3, whichcontrols the supply-valve of the engine, the cord 48 being attached ateach end to the lever 3 and wound around a drum 40 on the controller 13and also around a hand-operated drum 50, arranged at a convenient point,so that by turning the drum 50 the motor will be thrown into circuit andthe supply-valve ot' the engine simultaneously opened, or vice versa,thus making it impossible to start the electric motor without giving theengine its propersupply of fuel or gas.

It will be understood that the use of reference numerals or charactersin the claim is resorted to for the sake of clearness and not for thepurpose of specifying the particular construction of the elementsreferred to thereby.

The automatic cut-out mechanism herein shown and described, but notclaimed, constitutes the subject-matter of the claims in my application,Serial No. 711,559, filed December 26, 1899.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of an engine having a speed-regulator, a dynamo or motormechanically connected with the engine-shaft, a storage battery, acontroller for varying the current between the battery and the motor andan operative connection between said controllerand speed-regulator ofthe engine, substantially as set forth.

ANDRE\V BENSON.

Witnesses:

EDNA 1 JoHNsoN, F. A. HoPKINs.

